The Mets could not even get to the first pitch of the season before having lineup problems.
Mets manager Terry Collins announced the team will be without second baseman Daniel Murphy and center fielder Chris Young for Opening Day against the Nationals on Monday.
Murphy is in Florida for the birth of his first child. Young suffered a right quad strain in his final at-bat in Montreal last week, and he is available to pinch-hit Monday if needed.
Alderson said he expects Young and Murphy to be back for Wednesday’s game.
“It doesn’t feel terrible,” Young said. “I think it’s going to be a thing where it’s just one day. It’s very unfortunate for me personally. It sucks. I’ve been working hard all spring getting ready for Opening Day and then you get to Opening Day and to not be able to go out there with your teammates, that’s tough on a player.”
Collins said the team also has been hit by a flu bug, with four or five unspecified players affected.
Eric Young Jr. will play second base. Andrew Brown will play left field and Juan Lagares will be in center field.
Ike Davis gets the start at first base after competing with Lucas Duda in the spring for the job. But Collins indicated the position will rotate in the early going based on the matchup, and Davis’ success against Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg gave him the nod.
“One thing we looked at is not a lot of guys have good numbers against Strasburg,” Collins said. “He does. I wanted to get him in there today. (Josh) Satin will play against Gio (Gonzalez) and I’ll get Lucas in there.”
Here’s the full lineup:
Eric Young 2B
Juan Lagares CF
David Wright 3B
Curtis Granderson RF
Andrew Brown LF
Ike Davis 1B
Travis D’Arnaud C
Ruben Tejada SS
Dillon Gee P